IEC has to use R20m ‘sparingly’
Thursday, Manuel questioned why it took 11 years to restore the Brandfort house while Magashule had quickly provided approval for a dairy project in the Free State from which it is alleged the Gupta family siphoned off millions of rand.
“He now informed us this minuscule project to restore the house to which our mother was banished has taken 11 years… where is the money that was budgeted?” Manuel asked at the time. “We must be able to take our children and our public servants there and remind them of the words of Madiba at his inauguration that ‘never, never and never again’… we must call it out for what it is and we must say no to it and we must assert that house in Brandfort be a memory to the pain and suffering of Mam’ Winnie.”
Bulwane said people should be focusing on mourning Madikizela-Mandela and not mud-slinging. He added the national Department of Arts and Culture had taken over the project. “By next year, in terms of the Department of Arts and Culture, nationally… by March next year that project would be completed, they are finalising (it),” said Bulwane. – African News Agency (ANA) MPs SAY the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) will have to utilise the R20 million allocated by the Treasury sparingly to ready itself for implementing the Political Party Funding Bill once signed into law.
This comes after the commission’s request for R45m towards the implementation of the bill was shut down by Treasury last month. The commission was allocated R20m.
Scopa chairperson and member of the ad hoc committee on political party funding Themba Godi said the commission would have to wait for the next financial year to receive more funds.
“The IEC and the Treasury agreed that whatever remains for this financial year (2018/2019), we have agreed on R20m. In 2019/2020 it will rise, I think, to R25m and in 2020/21 to another level. Beyond that they should be able to raise enough funds to run it,” said Godi.
The bill, which was passed by the National Assembly last month, is intended to regulate and make transparent private donations to political parties represented in Parliament and the provincial legislatures.
The bill, if signed into law, will require the IEC to establish the multiparty democracy fund (MPDF) and represented political party fund (RPPF).
Godi said he was confident the commission would diligently execute its functions as required by the bill.
The IEC had projected that starting up the new funds would require R11m for compensation of employees, and R34m for administrative expenses and assets.
Chairperson for the ad hoc committee on political party funding Vincent Smith said the commission did not need more money until the bill had been signed into law.
“The IEC does not need the R45m at this time. It is not a matter of urgency. What they need to do before the president signs the bill into law is look for office space, staff and computers. They need to conceptualise and work on their strategy for when the bill comes into law,” said Smith.